March 16, 2012
One year after Japan’s devastating 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, Grammy Award winner Scott Stapp – singer, songwriter, voice of Creed and founder of the Scott Stapp With Arms Wide Open Foundation, a charity organization dedicated to helping underprivileged children and families around the world – is visiting some of the worst hit areas this March to show support for continued recovery and revitalization and promote global support for Japan.
In cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, IsraAID, U.S. Forces Japan and USO, Stapp will visit with victims of the tsunami of all ages in affected towns such as Sendai and Ishinomaki along Japan’s northeast coastline. Stapp will also meet and greet fans and will perform an acoustic show on board the USS George Washington at Yokosuka Naval Base for several thousand U.S. troops stationed in Japan, many of whom have recently returned from deployment around the world.
“My heart breaks for the victims. One year ago, our friends in Japan suffered a catastrophe of epic proportions. We will not forget the orphans, widows and families that lost every possession they have known. God bless the all those at the US Embassy and our troops on the ground providing medical care, meals and shelter. I am looking forward to performing for our troops stationed in Japan and to let them know that we appreciate the hard work, compassion, and sacrifice required for such an extraordinary humanitarian relief effort,” Stapp cites as his motivation for visiting Japan.
Stapp will be accompanied by wife Jaclyn Stapp, a former Miss New York, children’s book author, model and national spokesperson, who will read her book Wacky Jacky: The Story of an Unlikely Beauty Queen to both Japanese and U.S. military children in efforts to inspire hope and teach lessons in self-esteem and positive outlook.
Fans will be able to partake in live tweets and video messages documenting Scott’s trip via his website, www.scottstappofficial.com. Scott Stapp is also scheduled to release an upcoming uncensored memoir slated to launch via Tyndale House Publishers this fall.
Original Article: https://www.looktothestars.org/news/8042-creeds-scott-stapp-visits-tsunami-victims-in-japan
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CREED’S SCOTT STAPP VISITS JAPAN ONE YEAR AFTER TSUNAMI IN NEW DOCUMENTARY
CHAD CHILDERS | May 19, 2012
Creed frontman Scott Stapp made an emotional journey in March to Japan to check out the destruction and aftermath of last year's tsunami. He let the cameras roll and the result is a new documentary short titled 'After the Rain.'
The 13-minute film was produced and edited by Alexander Harris, who joined the singer and his family while visiting the destruction and helping to raise spirits of the victims, their families and the U.S. military troops serving in the area.
Stapp says, "I think initially the seed was planted for us to come here because we had friends and family who were here in Japan, here in Tokyo, and were directly affected and lived through the terror of the tsunami and the earthquake. We wanted to help not only our friends and family, but as the events began to unfold and we began to learn how the people were affected, how lives were lost, homes, entire cities, children were dead, children who lost their parents, it was something where we really felt compelled to take action and become a part of."
In the film, the singer visits a temporary housing facility in Tohoku, Japan where he teams with musician and fellow volunteer Celia Dunkelman in performing and speaking with those left in transition by the horrors of the natural disaster. During the performance, Stapp breaks out the guitar for an acoustic rendition of 'Higher,' and encourages crowd participation while covering the Doors' 'Roadhouse Blues.'
Other stops along the way include one of the major sites of destruction in Ishinomaki, where over 3,000 of the city's 164,000 lost their lives. Stapp's wife Jaclyn also visited a local school to read one of her children's books for the youngsters who were learning English. The trip concluded with a trip aboard the USS George Washington Naval Base, where Stapp was able to thank the soldiers for their service and to perform for the military men and women. A little bit of his stripped back take on Creed's 'My Sacrifice' is included in the film.
Additional reading: http://loudwire.com/creed-scott-stapp-visits-japan-one-year-after-tsunami-in-new-documentary/
Watch "After The Rain: Japan a Year Later":
https://vimeo.com/40972847